Property of the Rebel Librarian

July 23, 2018
When 12-year-old June’s father finds a library book he deems inappropriate among her belongings, her protective parents go on a censoring rampage, taking away the book and auditing her personal library—even, eventually, rewriting the end to Old Yeller. Before she knows it, they’ve called a PTA meeting, removed books from the school library (“It’s called a book extraction,” her father says), and gotten the librarian suspended. When June discovers a Little Free Library along a new route to school, and other kids learn that she has access to books, June soon finds herself running an underground library. Her crush, Graham, has asked her out, but his participation in the censorship has her questioning their relationship, especially after she meets new book-loving friends. When a school witch hunt for anyone with banned books reveals June’s role, she must decide if she has the strength to fight for the right to read. Debut author Varnes’s painting of overbearing parents occasionally feels over the top (their book rewrites extend to pasting over fart jokes), but the farcical take also drives home important points about bureaucracy, oversight, and freedom. Ages 8–12.

August 1, 2018
Seventh-grader June Harper sets up a secret lending library when her school decides to ban books.When June's overprotective father finds a school library copy of a book called The Makings of a Witch, her parents put pressure on the school to place Ms. Bradshaw, the school librarian, on administrative leave and, in addition to emptying June's home library, to strip the school library of anything deemed inappropriate. "Students in possession of unapproved texts will face disciplinary action," reads the board resolution, and teachers will be fired. As a rule-follower, June is conflicted, but she can't help feeling that this is wrong. Compounding her confusion are her reciprocated crush on eighth-grader Graham, who asks her to lie low and choose between him and books, and her best friend, Emma, who sympathizes with Graham. When June finds a Little Free Library in her neighborhood, she is inspired to create a contraband lending library in an abandoned locker. This quickly grows into a movement, if only users can keep it a secret. Varnes' debut is a straightforward advocacy book for children's right to make their own reading choices. Most characters default white except for brown-skinned implied Latina Abby Rodriguez. June's narration is sometimes clumsy, and some characters, such as June's parents, are thinly developed and come across as extreme. The ending, however, is realistically open-ended.An accessible introduction to the importance of the freedom to read. (Fiction. 8-12)

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August 1, 2018

Gr 4-7-To say 12-year-old June is passionate about books would be an understatement. Luckily, she has a great school librarian, Ms. Bradshaw, to feed her voracious appetite. But when her strict parents decide her latest check-out, The Makings of a Witch, is inappropriate, they start an all-out war against the freedom to read. Ms. Bradshaw is suspended, the majority of the books are removed from the school library, and students may only read from a list of approved titles. Fortunately for the students at Oakwood Middle, June is an activist in training. She starts an underground library filled with books from fellow students and the town's Little Free Library. Before she knows it, June is the most popular girl in school and reading is the coolest thing to do. This debut novel tackles the issue of censorship in a humorous and engaging way. June is a worthy and winsome heroine who is sure to charm. Every book title mentioned in the story is included in a list at the end. VERDICT This funny and fast read could be used to fuel discussions about book banning, censorship in general, and activism.-Tiffany Davis, Mount Saint Mary College, Newburgh, NY

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